The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries) [Paperback]

Serge Gruzinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1992

Explores the complex aspects of the ancient Aztec civilization, its artistic and cultural achievements, its bloody religion, and its history--from earliest times to its collapse with the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Original.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; English Language Edi edition (October 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810928213
• ISBN-13: 978-0810928213
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > History > Ancient > Aztec

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great little book, January 31, 2001

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries) (Paperback)

This a handy little book that can be taken with you anywhere, it is smaller than an average man's hand. It's an excellent source book for covering the the rise and fall of the Mexica(Aztec) civilization. The illustrations are wonderful reproductions of some of the most famous paintings of the conquest, including many from the murals of Diego Rivera. The paper is thick stock and fact filled with little commentary that is conjecture. The strength of this reference book is that it has many rarely seen pictures from an assortment of codexes and the reproductions are superb. Some are small but the quality remains so as to distinquish what you are looking at without any problem. The color in the illustrations is great and very much as the originals. Every page has at least one picture and most have numerous. It is visually stimulating to see as you read the history. Another strength of the book is that it has one third dedicated to documents. The conquest is retold, again, in a series of original documents, dating from the time period being discussed, most of which are primary documents. Anyone interested in Mexico and it's history will benefit from this book. Also anyone interested in art will enjoy the collection of illustrations throughout book. This is an excellent, little, wealth of information waiting for the student of Mexican history.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read, June 8, 2001

By 

Santidiablo "santidiablo" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries) (Paperback)

For anyone interested in learning more or learning for the first time about the Aztecs, this book is highly recommended. As mentioned by the other reviewer, it is filled with so many high quality art pictures and is very effective in describing the history, beliefs and rituals of this great empire. Someone stole my book, but I'm going to buy it again. It's that good.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Introduction, September 5, 2000

By 

Manos Lingunis (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries) (Paperback)

This was a very helpful book in understanding the Aztec civilization and culture, and the spanish conquest. The illustrations are very helpful and the judgements are sparse and generally fair.